The present invention relates to protective gloves or glove liners with flexible rubber finger pads designed to provide additional protection to the distal ends of the fingers and fingernails without sacrificing flexibility in the remainder of the glove.
Fingernails and fingertips get jammed against furniture, appliances and all manner of obstacles while hands are in use. When gardening, sharp small stones or wood slivers penetrate burlap or canvas gloves. Thorns from bushes often lodge under the fingernails. Chipping and breaking of nails is a common occurrence during this type of handwork. Use of conventional gloves only provides minimal protection to hands and nails.
Similarly, the vinyl gloves used by, for example, workers in the medical and clinical laboratory professions are often subject to failure, especially at the fingertip area. This is due to the combination of thinness of the gloves required to allow fine control, sensitivity of touch and dexterity in the manipulations their hands must be able to do, and the sharp instruments, e.g., scalpels, scissors and needles, with which they must work. The consequences of nicks and needle sticks, which are very common occurrences in these fields, has become in recent years more than a mere annoyance. In an effort to avoid these injuries and, therefore, avoid exposure to various diseases, especially AIDS, it is of great concern that hand protection be available which combines improved safety with the required flexibility.